BOOK REVIEW

ABSTRACTS

American Deaf History has matured in the decades since the publication of A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America in 1989, but so have the threats facing Deaf culture. Today, more than ever, we need a historical approach that demonstrates the importance of Deaf Americans’ past to a sophisticated, humanistic understanding of this country’s history and future.

The year 2014 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America. This article provides an account of a panel discussion that focused on the writing and publication of the book by its authors, John Vickrey Van Cleve and Barry Crouch. The panel also examined the transformative impact that A Place of Their Own had on the field of deaf history. In particular, the panel commented on the growing acceptance of deaf history as a legitimate subfield of history and the depth of sophistication in scholarship over the past three decades. Panelists included Dr. John Vickrey Van Cleve, Dr. Brian H. Greenwald, Dr. Joseph J. Murray, Dr. Octavian Robinson, and the moderator, Dr. William T. Ennis III.

This article considers the implication of digital trends in Deaf historical scholarship. I argue that these methodological approaches hold great promise for fostering new interpretations of the historical record and for broadening access to resources. My digital history project, the Church Mission to Deaf-Mutes, 1873–1879, serves as a springboard for a discussion on the use of digital methods to explore geospatial deaf histories.

As the black and deaf coauthors of The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL: Its History and Structure, Joseph Hill and Carolyn McCaskill reflect on their journey from the origin of the Black ASL project to the publication of The Hidden Treasure and beyond. Their reflections offer intimate details about and insights into the importance of the Black ASL project, issues in the black Deaf community, and challenges that lie ahead in expanding the black Deaf literature.

Although writers have discussed the deaf experience in the periods before and after the Civil War, no one has comprehensively examined deaf people’s participation during this national crisis. In this article I summarize the extensive and meaningful involvement of deaf and hard of hearing people in the Civil War. I draw implications for the field of Deaf studies, and I argue for inclusion of the deaf experience as an integral component of mainstream history.

One of the challenges of gaining a broader appreciation of Deaf history is the need to examine the contributions of Deaf people of color. This article summarizes the contributions of black Deaf individuals to the scholarly and public history of the period from the 1980s to the present. We begin with the 1980s since that was the era when the landmark book by Ernest Hairston and Linwood Smith, Black and Deaf in America: Are We That Different? was published and the National Black Deaf Advocates organization was founded. We then progress through the 1990s and 2000s, noting historical developments such as the advancement of black Deaf individuals to key leadership positions, expanded collaborative efforts between Gallaudet University and the black Deaf community, and the growth of black Deaf history scholarship, which addresses a broad spectrum of topics. We conclude that these historical developments, among others, during these three and a half decades gave impetus to the emergence of a dynamic collective of black Deaf scholars, leaders, and artists to further contribute to our understanding and appreciation of Deaf history.

This article presents strategies for locating and using digitally available primary source documents in the fields of Deaf history and Deaf cultural studies for instruction in a Deaf history class, traditional history/social studies class, or language arts class in lessons that incorporate the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies. An earlier version of this content was presented at the 2014 Summer Literacy Institute at the Learning Center for the Deaf, sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

This article discusses offering the History of the American Deaf Community class several times since 2012 at the University of Virginia. While I change the syllabus each time, I have found a few constants in my approach: I stress that students work with primary sources whenever possible, that they read influential secondary texts, that they watch Deaf films, that Deaf people visit our class, and students attend one or more Deaf lectures during the semester so they can experience a little of the culture. Finally, I try to set up pedagogical strategies where they can teach each other and develop a new understanding of American history through a Deaf lens.

Seeking That Which Might Constitute Our Common Humanity: Deaf Studies, Social Justice, and the Liberal Arts

This article discusses the joys, rewards, and challenges of using Deaf history as a framework for teaching Deaf studies, Deaf history and culture, and American Sign Language to hearing undergraduates in a liberal arts college oriented to social justice.

DEAF CULTURE CENTRE: How the Community Takes Its Rightful Place in History

This article describes the vision and realization of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as a beacon of Deaf heritage contribution in Canada and internationally, with a focus on community-generated accomplishment and celebration. The authors highlight the unique historical role of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as a freestanding cultural space set in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, which is a hub of culture, arts, and entertainment. The center features the diverse ways in which the community influences both itself and society at large. This contrasts with other institutions that place themselves in tandem with Deaf schools or service agencies and/or focus on external impacts on the Deaf community. The authors reflect on the importance of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as the embodiment of Deaf self-determination in public history both in its institutional context and in its public exhibits. Together they provide an affirming message about the cultural contributions of the Deaf community in public history.

Finnish Museum of the Deaf Presenting the Life of Carl Oscar Malm (1826-1863)

The Finnish Museum of the Deaf was founded in 1907, and one of its first tasks was to collect material on Carl Oscar Malm, the founder of Finland’s first school for deaf children. In 1915 part of this material was presented in the museum’s first exhibition space, “the Malm museum room.” The material was collected by deaf people, who, by doing so, defined both themselves and what was important to the Deaf community. Malm is the father of Finnish Sign Language, and his story is the account of the birth of the Finnish Deaf community. He is also a role model, and several leaders of the Finnish Deaf community have been strongly influenced by his work and ideas. For the general public, Malm’s story provides both a historical account of a minority group in Finnish society and a chance to estimate their values.

The authors offer their personal reflections on changes in public presentations of Deaf history that have occurred since the 1981 publication of Jack R. Gannon’s Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America. This rear-view-mirror perspective on the move into public discourse touches on progress, protest, and navigation through the politics of sharing Deaf life.

This article describes the emergence of Deaf women’s studies by way of Deaf studies and women’s studies. This discipline arose from the need to explore the Deaf female experience. Understanding the barriers Deaf women have faced and overcome engenders an appreciation of the experiences and contributions made by and for Deaf women. Deaf women’s studies courses established at National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), California State University, Northridge, and Gallaudet have advanced the discipline, including the documentation of the lives of Deaf women.